April 06, 2009

Gregory Craig's Financial Disclosures Are In

It's not all that surprising, but Gregory Craig, President
Barack Obama's White House counsel, brought home quite a bit of money from
Williams & Connolly last year.

According to financial disclosure forms released by the
White House late Friday, Craig earned about $1.7 million in 2008 as a partner
at the firm.

The disclosure forms (available here in .pdf form) also report that Craig has money spread
across a number of investment funds, including Calamos Convertible Fund,
Citigroup Orion Futures Fund, and Blackrock Global Allocation Fund, among
others. Craig's disclosure form says he has between $100,001 and $250,000
invested in each. Citigroup earned Craig between $1,000 and $2,500 last year,
while the others earned him less than $201.

Most of Craig's investments are listed as excepted
investment funds. The Office of Government Ethics exempts those who file
financial disclosure forms from reporting the underlying assets of an
investment fund if "the fund is widely held; the filer neither exercises
control over nor has the ability to exercise control over the financial
interests held by the fund; and the fund is publicly traded/available or widely
diversified."

Craig also received between $201 and $1,000 in dividends and
interest on his investment in the Ohio National Variable Annuity retirement
fund. Craig's financial disclosure form says he has between $1,000,001 and
$5,000,000 in assets invested in that fund, which in turn is invested in a
number of portfolios that qualify as EIFs. Among others, Ohio National is
invested in Goldman Sachs Growth and Income Fund.

Perhaps the oddest income reported by Craig comes from stock
he owns in World Wrestling Entertainment. Craig reports earning between $201
and $1,001 in dividends on the less than $1,000 he owns in the wrestling
empire's stock.